Nova

Chapter 12

Water

Its Maddie; that's who the next card is about.

Deciding not to procrastinate any longer, I walk around the corner catching Mads off guard. When I see her, she's jumping up from her knees and shoving a book back in its slot, the only book that's not completely coated in dust.

"Hey, did, umm, did you get my food?" Mads asks, sounding scared and nervous. She's been caught.

"Yeah, it's right here," I say, trying to act like this all seems normal and holding the plate out.

"Can you go find a table? I'll only be a second?" She asks this time sounding less anxious.

"Yeah of course... umm, but can I get a drink of water?" Instantly when I say it her eyes bulge slightly, "I'm really dehydrated."

"I would... But, I'm sick." Lies.

"Oh really? I heard there was a bug going around..." Instead of replying, she just slightly nods her head while rocking back and forth on her heels. She's getting antsy but trying to keep her cool so she doesn't look suspicious. "You know what? I don't really mind a little cold," without wasting any time, I grab the bottle. I think I hear Mads yell something to get me to stop, she even tries to grab it out of my hand, but I hold it away from her. Unscrewing the lid, I look over and see her hands over her head, giving up on stopping me. I'm pretty sure I already know what's going to be inside, but I have to make sure.

I know the smell instantly, and it's so strong I would be surprised if there was water at any point. It stings the back of my nose with a slight fruity hint; it's both heavy and light all at the same time. The drink is a mix of whatever alcohol she can find in her mom's liquor cabinet, I'm sure. Mainly vodka since it's the one her mom drinks the least, and she can replace it with a little bit of water, or maybe she has her own stash hidden somewhere. This is the same combination she's done ever since she first snuck a drink, while the group was at hers and her mom was asleep in bed. No wonder she can hold her liquor well; she's had to practice. All those times she was about to fall over after school, I just figured it was from the stress and not sleeping.

It all makes sense thinking about it. She's always tired, and in a haze by the end of the day, she's always chewing gum, and I've never seen her without this bottle; she's protective over it. I'm surprised I didn't figure it out when I first saw that note.

The only question now is: What is she looking for here?

"Care to explain, Mads?" I ask, and she just shakes her head with her hand still covering while dropping down to the floor.

She looks at me in tears that I don't think she realizes are there. "It's not what you think, this was a one-time thing, and it was only to help me relax a little. That's all."

"I know that's not true, Maddie, this has been going on for a long time." I try to scrunch down to get her to look at me, but she only clams up more.

"Can I, can I please just have it back," I can tell she's about to start full-on crying soon, but she's still trying to act like there's no problem.

"No, Mads," I hear her gasp from trying to hold back a cry, but I continue to push further, "You have a problem, Maddie, and I know it's not just with what's in this bottle but also what's behind that book." She snaps up to me, but instead of trying to keep me away from it, she sits on the floor with her head on her knees.

I walk forward so that I'm next to her and pull back the red-bound book. Hidden behind is a small prescription medicine capsule, but the sticker that holds the person's information is gone, and instead, written in marker are Maddie's initials. The part that throws me off is I know I've seen that handwriting before.